Melancholy as artist's perception: black bile and reverie

Official URL: http://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b1819848 (Table of Contents)

The meaning of melancholy as state of mind and approaches to it vary among psychologists, philosophers and artists. In this thesis, controversial and ambiguous concepts of melancholy are addressed within their specific meanings, constituted by the positive aspects of melancholy that also constructs my approach. First, thanks to philosophers and psychologists, perception through the creative process is provided regarding the position of the referred artists and my approach through my works. Then, the definition of melancholy- as a state of mind- is given, and creativity as a result of melancholy’s positive aspect concludes the thesis. Approach of Maurice Merleau-Ponty to perception, Eugenio Borgna’s definition of melancholy, and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's analysis of creativity constitute the main idea. Noticeable examples of melancholic attitude throughout art history and the perception of the artists are used for being more explanatory to clarify the theoretical approaches of philosophers, psychologists and artists. The examination of these three topics is contextualised in my paintings and installations under the topics of Black Bile and Reverie projects, and analysed in relation to one another. The thesis stands as a supplementary text for the projects. It is necessary to emphasize that the thesis does not lead us to solid results. The sensations form the base of my thesis. They do not lead us to more than a state of guessing, or forming an opinion, and the definitions only point out one specific part of the concepts.